Heart Beat
by iwantlunch
Summary: 'She was losing hope and one thing Ally Dawson never did was lose hope, especially in one Austin Moon.' / / They were supposed to get breakfast that morning, talk about their fight the night before. But the rise of the sun left Ally hoping and hanging on to each beat of his heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I know I sort of disappeared off the face of the planet and I'm really sorry. Here's a little preview to a short story I'm doing (yes, I'll update Behind The Music, just a little stuck on writing). **

**This was inspired by a few angst stories that have absolutely broken my heart and made me cry like a baby (cough "Swimming in Miami" & "All for Austin" cough). This was also inspired by the song Both of Us by B.o.B. and Taylor Swift as well as an amazing Twitter friend I've made who was kind enough to share some stories and let me use them for inspiration. I hope all is well.**

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**Heart Beat**

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Never in her life did she find the white walls so imprisoning. It was as if they mocked her younger thoughts. The white walls had always seemed inviting almost; a sign of new life, of purity, and of innocence. But the situations that truly happened here seemed to dawn on Ally at a pace faster than imagined.

The last time Ally Dawson was in the hospital she was thirteen and welcoming her baby cousin in (what felt like) a safe world. She could remember the excitement she felt, knowing she was about to hold a person so innocent, so new, so…_pure_. No wrong doing had taken place around the baby yet and her heart swelled at the thought of something so good. Her heart sped up with excitement and happiness, overwhelmed by the joy of a new being, one who she could guide through life.

But today, her heart sped up for a different reason.

The red that covered his shirt, his pants, his _entire_ body contrasted the pureness and whiteness of the walls.

_Airvacced._

The word seemed to taunt her and attack any hope she could find.

'_This is Austin you're thinking about. He can make it_,' she would think to herself. Yet that word, the horrid reminder it was, came back to her mind and her heart would break each time. She knew how serious it was if he had to be taken by a helicopter.

'_His hair was red and his skin was pale, Ally_,' a part of her told herself (the same part that felt the need to haunt her with the image she'd created of her love being airlifted to the hospital). His bright blond hair had turned a crimson red and his tan face had turned a sickly light color. Her heart sunk more.

She was losing hope and one thing Ally Dawson never did was lose hope, especially in one Austin Moon.


	2. Beathe Me

**Um, wow. I don't think I've ever updated twice in one day of the same story. YAY! **

**This is really my first time writing angst so bear with me? I'm trying. Let me know how I'm doing. :) Oh, Team Austin is supposed to be 20/21 in this and Austin & Ally are dating.**

**Breathe Me by Sia is really the inspiration for this one so you should listen to it (on loop) if you can as well as Both of Us (which I don't own the lyrics of) since that's a huge inspiration for the story overall. **

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**Heart Beat – Chapter Two: "Breathe Me"**

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She had been around the block at the local convenience store when her phone rang. It was nearly half past four in the morning and her mind wouldn't rest. Something was wrong, she felt it in her gut, and she couldn't fall asleep.

She placed her coffee on the counter and fished out the necessary bills as well as her vibrating phone. "Hold on," her tired voice grumbled as she grabbed her coffee and change and headed outside.

"Do you know what time it is, Trish?" Ally wondered, sleep seeping its way back into her body as she slowly made her way back to her apartment. Trish was only ever known to call at obscene hours like this if it was an emergency or she was stressing, the latter becoming a more and more frequent reason. "You know stressing like this isn't good for the baby and-"

Ally was cut off by a sob on the other end. '_Pregnancy hormones never got to Trish this much_,' she thought to herself. "It's not the baby, Ally," Trish began. Ally's heart stopped and the gut wrenching feeling she had experienced all night came back full force.

"Trish," her voice wavered, "what's wrong?"

The songwriter could hear Trish take a deep in order to control her sobbing long enough to say what happened. "It's Austin and Dez. I just got a call that they were in a car accident and I couldn't reach you on your cell phone and Austin was airvacced to the hospital and Ally-"

The only sounds that seemed to echo in Ally's mind were Trish's voice repeating "airvacced" and her brand new cup of coffee hitting the pavement as she made a sprint for the nearby building.

x

Her heart seemed to pound out of her chest and her legs pumped faster than they ever did during her years on track. Her feet smacked the linoleum floor in no time and Ally made a rush towards the emergency knowing that he would be sent there. Her running was cut short as she tripped over a wheelchair that rested against the wall.

Face down on the floor, Ally knew a bruise would be forming on her cheek soon but that was the least of her worries. She turned over and sat up. Her eyes locked on an incoming stretcher from the elevator and she stood up quickly only to find herself pressed against the wall.

"We need Dr. Harmon in ER now!" one woman in scrubs seemed to yell to no one as she joined the group huddling around the moving bed. As if in slow motion, it traveled past Ally, her eyes trained on the patient lying there.

Blond hair had turned red, his face considerably paler, and bruises littered his body. The small girl could see shards of glass, too deep to take out at the moment without proper medical equipment to sew back up immediately, sticking out in various places. An oxygen mask was across the male's face and the crowd around him sheltered him from Ally's gaze though she still managed to see.

Her love, her boyfriend, the guy who she could see herself with for the rest of her life, her Austin, laid motionless on the stretcher. Ally moved slightly and went to slowly step forward to follow her other half only to be stopped by a nurse. The stubby woman ushered Ally towards the waiting room (the explanation as to why she couldn't go further fell on deaf ears) and she let her, her body numb but her eyes still set on the swinging ER doors.

All she wanted was to be with Austin, tell him that she was sorry, tell him that she loved him more than she could ever express, and to be happy once more.

She wanted to let him know that he was okay...

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_"I wish I was strong enough to lift not one but both of us..."_

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Her body didn't move from the hallway in the waiting room where she could still see the ER.

She wanted to let him know that she was here, and that he would make it.


	3. Bows & Arrows

**Thank you guys so much for the support! I really appreciate it. :)**

**finnssmallfry: haha thank you, that totally made my day! I'm trying my best.**

**Llamagal: Your review made me smile so much. I'm glad you're interested in this story! There's only a few chapters left, I wanted it to be a short story. I know how I want the story to go, it's just a matter of writing it! Haha but I hope this doesn't disappoint. Thank you. :)**

**Seriously, thank you guys so much for all the support, reviews, follows, and favorites. It makes me smile so much, thank you.**

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**Heart Beat – Chapter 3: "Bows & Arrows"**

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_"**Every talk leads to a battle, playing tag with bows and arrows…"**_

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Dez sat beside Ally and held her tightly. He had arrived in the waiting room moments after Ally had been rushed in and he watched her collapse to the floor. Her sobs were silent but he saw the ways her shoulders violently shook. Even when tears blurred her vision, he could still sense that she stared at the ER doors.

He had ushered her to one of the uncomfortable waiting rooms and placed himself in the one beside her. Her tears leaked through his shirt as she cried into his shoulder and he couldn't register how uncomfortable the random wet droplets truly made him feel. He kept his mouth shut and focused on comforting the girl who had become like a sister to him.

"I'm glad you're okay," Trish whispered to him when Ally had managed to cry herself to sleep. Dez looked up to see the very pregnant Trish standing in front of himself and Ally, two coffee cups in her hand. "I got one for you… the other was for Ally but she obviously isn't having it anytime," she muttered. Needing something to keep her hands still, Trish held onto one coffee and handed Dez the other. His scratched up hand gripped the Styrofoam coffee cup and he slowly took a sip as Trish sat on the other side of Dez.

"I'm worried about Austin," he said, his voice hoarse. It was the first time he had spoken since the accident a few hours prior and the shock was beginning to wear off. "Trish, what if he doesn't make it?" The crack in his voice broke Trish's heart and she reached her hand out, placing it on top of the one on the chair armrest, giving it a slight squeeze. If they had been fifteen, Trish would have shuddered at the thought. But times have changed drastically since then.

Dez returned the squeeze and if possible, that broke Trish's heart even more. In drastic situations, Dez was unlike himself. He was removed sometimes and was a completely different person.

"What happened?" Trish was able to ask quietly. She had been so uncertain of asking the question. Dez glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'm sure I want to know," she said, more confidently. As the team grew older, much like Austin and Ally, Dez and Trish had developed a silent language. Dez sighed and returned his gaze to straight in front of him.

"Okay," he whispered.

…

"_Honestly Dez, I don't know what I did wrong!" Austin exclaimed as he threw open the driver's door to his black truck._

"_Women are crazy, kind of like that kangaroo I ordered when we were fifteen," Dez responded, happiness in his voice as he remembered some of the earliest adventures with Team Austin. He heard Austin chuckle as they clambered into their seats. It had the first time he heard Austin laugh in the past couple of weeks. Things had been rough with Ally, her blowing up at every little thing that went wrong._

_Austin started the car and made his way through the empty streets. "Make a left here," Dez directed. The singer didn't question his best friend, only nodded and made the left as told. It had become a habit, a tradition of sorts as well as second instinct, to go to a new pancake house every time they needed to talk._

"_I don't know what to do…" Austin whispered to his best friend as he spotted the small diner a few hundred feet away. The car stayed silent as the blond pulled into one of the many empty parking spots, no one really went out to eat around three in the morning._

"_What was the fight about this time?" Dez asked as he picked up the menu. He watched from the corner of his eyes as Austin let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over his face._

"_I've been recording a lot lately, she knew that. I have a deadline and we're nowhere near done but I've been trying to finish it before her birthday-"_

"_Because of track 5?" Dez questioned._

_Austin nodded. "I wanted to surprise her. But it's been stressing out the both of us and I guess she feels like I've been neglecting her which, I may have been…" Austin trailed off sheepishly for a moment. "Only because I want to finish this album for her!" he quickly exclaimed. In no way did he want Ally to ever feel like he neglected her, she was his world. She was a treasure like no other and he was glad that he happened upon her. God, he doesn't know what he would do if he didn't walk into Sonic Boom with Dez on that fateful day._

"_Are you sure track five is worth all this trouble?" Dez didn't mean to upset Austin, as he could tell he did slightly when he glanced at his friend's eyes. His fists tightened but slowly relaxed as the plates of food were placed in front of them._

"_Dez, track five means everything to me. It's definitely worth it to me." A moment of silence passes between the two. The tension is high as both men begin to eat. "But… I don't think she thinks it's worth it." Austin's voice cracks even more as he continues talking. "I think she hates me."_

_Not once in his life had Dez seen his best friend so… broken._

"_Ally doesn't hate you Austin, she never could. You guys-"_

"_She wants to talk tomorrow. About us, our life together, our future. Dez what if she wants to break up with me?"_

_Silence._

_Stares._

_Dez had no answers. He wasn't as close to Ally as he was to Austin and he had never heard either of them want to talk about things like that after a fight. Sure, he had their many conversations on maybe getting married one day and getting a small house with a white-picket face and a small dog, but those were happy talks. The way Austin put it didn't seem too good for the couple._

_The ginger took a swig of his water before looking around the diner and lowering his voice, as if the brunette of subject was nearby and could hear. "Does she know about track five?"_

_Austin shook his head. Track five was his special project, a surprise he planned months ago for Ally. He didn't know how he had kept it a secret for so long but he wasn't going to give up on it, never. But now, he was uncertain._

"_God," Austin began, placing his head in his hands. "The last thing she said was how she never wanted to see me again." He dropped his hands to the table and played with the rings on his fingers. "Then when I tried to call her later to try and makeup and apologize, she texted me about the talk."_

_Dez caught the sight of a tear sneaking its way out of Austin's eye before he quickly wiped it away. They finished their meal without another word._

"_Don't think about tomorrow man, try to relax. Think happy thoughts! Like the amazing animals we've had in your music videos!" Dez brought up as they returned to the car. 3:55 AM flashed on the dashboard._

"_What about that baby alligator that followed you back to Shiny Money's boat?" Austin mentioned, chuckling as he started up the car._

"_Oh yeah, baby-gator. I miss that little fellow…"_

"_How's Trish's little fellow? Has she picked a name out yet?" the blond asked as he merged onto the road. He looked over his shoulder as he moved to the left lane. His crazy best friend shrugged._

"_Not that I know of."_

"_I tried suggesting 'Austin' to her but she declined."_

"_Hey! If she doesn't name it 'Dez' then why would she name it 'Austin'?!"_

_Chuckles echoed around the car and Austin pressed his foot to the brake to stop at the red light at the intersection. He groaned as his rearview mirror sparkled and brightened. He looked behind him and was instantly blinded._

"_Jackass has his brights on. I can't see anything in my mirror." Dez looked behind them at the oncoming car._

"_Is he even slowing down? Does he not realize this is a red light?!"_

_Austin shrugged as they both looked ahead and waited for the light to change. The car was currently in the middle lane and seemed to be slowing down. There were only a few other cars on the road, most of them going east, unlike Austin and the car with the bright lights who were going north. A sigh escaped his mouth as the light seemed to talk forever to change. Glancing into his rearview mirror again, Austin saw the other car, which was very close now, swerve and merge into his lane._

"_Shit." Austin muttered. He looked to his left to see more cars coming and speeding through the intersection, wanting to beat the red light as the green turned to yellow. He was a sitting duck with nowhere to go. Dez sat beside him, oblivious to the situation at hand, which he was grateful for. If Dez was relaxed, there was less of a chance he'd be seriously injured._

_A sudden jerk forward from behind sent the car surging into the intersection and the boys flew towards the dashboard. As the car entered the intersection against their will, a car from the left that had been speeding to beat the red light didn't have enough time to break._

_Austin heard the screeching of tires and the crunching of metal before he felt it. He heard the glass on his car door window shatter before it dig itself into his untouched skin and he felt the burst of air from the surrounding airbags before they bombarded him._

_The car swiveled and swerved, traveling into the other lane of traffic just as another car from the opposite way hit Austin's side once more. One tumble later, the car lay in the center of the road, upside._

_Blinking in and out of consciousness, blood being the majority of what his sight took in, Austin thought of only one thing to bring him peace. As his eyes felt heavy and the temptation to close them won over, Austin moaned in pain the one name that seemed to make everything even a little bit better, no matter how horrible that situation._

"_Ally." It was strangled and his voice was doused in pain but he couldn't stop saying it, his voice lowering and getting weaker each time he spoke._

"_Ally."_

_Silence._

"_Ally.."_

_Silence._

"_Ally…"_

_There was no answer back. A with a groan in pain, and one last muttered "Ally", Austin closed his eyes._


	4. Cough Syrup

**Thank you guys for your amazing reviews, favorites, alerts. It means a lot and it's incredibly motivating! Thank you LoveShipper, Isazu, Llamagal, citger, and HG Just Because for the reviews. Each one made me smile and I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter. Hopefully the next one will be up soon! Thank you again, you all make me laugh and cry. You're all simply amazing.**

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**Heart Beat – Chapter 4: "Cough Syrup"**

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"_**Life's too short to even care at all oh… I'm losing my mind losing my mind losing control…"**_

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The first time she returns to their apartment is three days after the accident. It's cold but she can't tell if it's from forgetting to put the heat up before she went for her coffee or if it's because _he_ isn't here with her, safe and sound. Regardless, Ally wraps her arms around herself and can't bear to move five feet into the apartment before taking everything in.

Dishes fill the kitchen sink, a blanket lies haphazardly on the crème couch, and handfuls of marshmallows clutter around the coffee table (all thanks to Austin & Dez).

She chokes back a sob as she walks over to the table. Her hand is shaky as she grabs for the loose food items. Oh gosh, she had yelled at him so many times about cleaning up after himself and damn, she just wishes he could be here. Her right hand clutched the marshmallows, using her left to cuddle herself in the blanket. He was supposed to be sleeping on the couch at four in the morning, not out driving.

A tear slips down her cheek as she lies on her side, wrapped up in the blanket and clutching marshmallows for dear life.

The white walls of the hospital were suffocating her. It began to cause paranoia within her and she needed an escape.

Gleaming tears cloud her eyes while she tries to memorize everything as it is. Because a part of her knows it will never be the same again. A strangled noise escapes her throat before tears flood down her face. She can't stop them from falling and that's okay, she wants to cry until she can't anymore, she needs to cry where no one looks at her, where she can't receive sympathetic looks.

She eventually cries herself to sleep but not for long. Nightmares invade her mind every time she closes her eyes. Ally heard Dez as he told Trish what happened. It took all she had to not make it obvious that she was awake or Dez would stop talking and she _needed_ to know what happened.

When she awakens, she slowly stands and washes her hand, the melted marshmallows smeared all over her palm. Slowly, she makes her way to their bedroom. The door feels ten times heavier than it ever did but when she opens it, all she is able to do is stare.

His white button-up is still thrown carelessly over the chair near his bed. Black dress shoes shine from their spot on the floor, matching pants close by. Ally makes her way over to the clothes. He was supposed to wear these at the meeting he had at nine, the morning of the accident. Her hand reaches out to grab the shirt but stops centimeters from the fabric.

The way the clothes are strewn across the room (Oh, she lost how many times she's chastised him to clean up after himself!), they show that he's still here, that he's still alive, and that he'll come through that door at any second.

But Ally knows that's not true, no matter how much she hopes.

Her hand grabs the shirt and she clutches it to her chest, desperately wishing that it smells like him. The smell that she distinctly remembers as Austin (pancakes_guitarpolish_summeryandbreezy) no longer accompanies his body, at least not strongly. His smell was conquered by the hospital, plastic and medicine overwhelming him.

With the shirt clutched to her chest, Ally collapses on her side of the bed, her right side being enveloped by the mattress. Her feet are thrown to her right, sliding over to Austin's side as they usually do. From her side view, she could imagine the blond rockstar lying next to her, his smile brightening the room. Instinctively, Ally smiles back, choking back a sob as she remember that he isn't actually here. No, he isn't smiling, his body isn't moving, he's stuck in a damn hospital with wires and tubes tainting his flawless skin.

Tears blur her vision.

* * *

"_La, la, la!" Austin sang, horribly and off-key. Ally laughed and followed him as he strummed on his guitar, skipping through their apartment. It still wasn't furnished completely, having only been in it for a few days, so there was plenty of room to frolic through the hallways. He stopped in the living room, twirling in the empty space where their couch would be in a week's time._

_The chords from his guitar echoed throughout and Ally quickly ran in after him, smiling and laughing. Austin stopped his spinning at the sight of her and began to jump which Ally hesitantly joined in on. She hoped the neighbors were at work right now because she didn't want their complaints to break this moment._

_Austin & Ally paused for a moment, the strumming having been stopped, before looking at each other and breaking into song. Plucking the notes to Ally's favorite song, Austin sang back to her, delighted at the genuine happiness that made its way across her face._

_God, she was beautiful, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning. He loved her, he knew that. And she loved him, oh yes he did. But it was in this moment, the moment when they danced down the halls to their bedroom, the only furniture occupying it being a bed with no headboard or footboard, that it truly hit him._

_He finished playing the song, watching as Ally twirled and spun around, the edges of her floral skirt flying up a bit. He didn't know what he would do if he couldn't see her face, see the joy that overwhelmed it in this moment, every day for the rest of his life._

_He wanted to marry this girl. He wanted to spend every day of his life waking up next to her, seeing her smile, and making her feel loved. He wanted to be the reason why she couldn't wait to wake up the next morning._

_Marriage had always been a sore subject when it came to Ally, her parents' long distance relationship not helping their marriage in the least. But Austin was determined to make sure theirs was not like that. She would go on tour with him and they would speak every day. They never go to bed angry and they continue their adventures._

"_I love you," Austin breathed as he gripped his guitar. Ally stopped her twirling, turning to him, and her smile widening._

"_I love you too," she said as she tried to catch her breath from all the dancing she just did. Austin gave her an identical grin, quickly removing his guitar from his body and moving towards her. His hands took hold of her waist and he pulled her close as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck._

_In a quick second, Austin's lips enveloped Ally's, the smiles still apparent on their faces. Austin knew how much he loved Ally, and she knew also from how much he told her, but now he wanted _show_ her. Almost effortlessly, he placed an arm behind her knees and literally swept her off her feet, into his arms. Traveling the few steps to the bed, he gently laid Ally on it, hovering over her, the kiss finally breaking._

_A shy, small, loving grin danced on Ally's face as she nervously played with Austin's collar. When her eyes met his, he offered the same smile in return. Soon, the gap between their lips closed once more._

_Austin woke the next morning with a wide smile on his face. He looked down at the beautiful brunette in his arms, absentmindedly brushing the hair out of her face. He was so in love, too deep to get out even though he never planned on ever stopping loving her._

_It was in this moment that he kissed her temple, the idea for track five on his album coming to mind. With a grin, he snuggled back into the sheets, holding Ally closer and fell back asleep._

* * *

The shirt has wrinkles and creases galore because of Ally's tight grip. Her eyes are shut tight in an attempt to prevent more tears from falling. She is exhausted, wanting the pain and tears to end. Opening her eyes, she sees that no one is beside, that it is still empty. The sob that escapes her throat is loud, echoing around the room, and her body shakes. In an effort to sit up, something in her back pocket pokes her, causing an unpleasant sensation in her backside.

Sniffling, her nose running once more, Ally releases one hand from her death grip on Austin's shirt and reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a CD case. The cover is see-through, a disc being held tightly within. On the gray disc, "TRACK 5 – ALLY'S SONG" is written in blue sharpie, barely readable due to Austin's messy scrawl that he calls handwriting.

A small, teary eyed smile plays on Ally's face as she looks down at the CD. Dez had given it to her yesterday, saying that this was one of the three things Austin was proudest of. Her finger moves up and down an edge as more tears well up in her brown eyes. She couldn't listen to it, not yet at least. Slowly, she stands, moving towards the living room to grab her bag.

Her hands gently place the CD and shirt in her purse and she grasps her keys, needing something to hold onto as she makes her way towards the door. Oh, how she just wants to be with him, near him, hearing the beeps of the machines, knowing that he's still alive.

The trembling of her hands does not deter her determination, for she will make it back to the hospital. She will be with the one person who will always hold her heart.

She needs to be with Austin just as much as she knows he needs her too.

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**"Perfect Two" by Auburn really helped me get through the flashback. Oh, and I don't any of the lyrics I put at the beginning of the chapters.**

**Thank you all again! You're all amazing and I love reading your feedback. I would love to see what else you have to say! :)**

**Until next time!**


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